crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

Ran across something today that I had not seen before. You can customize additional buttons on the back of your camera to do BBF that will allow you to use AF-ON in servo mode with one AF area selection AND * button in one-shot mode with a different AF area selection mode!

This is great to be able to beep lock in one-shot with 1ptAF for a potrait and just slide my thumb over one button and servo shoot with expanded 1Shot while the subject moves or repositions for some candids.

rafikiphoto Loc: Spain

Yes. I have a twin button setup on the 5D IV too. It also works on the 5DS R.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

....went back to my 6D and sadly...not there...
Wonder if the 6Dmkii has the same ability program up to 4 buttons for BBF with customization like the new 5-series cameras as you noted...feel the GAS rising.

banster Loc: PA, Ontario, N.C.,Key West

7D Mk II has the same.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Many cameras have more than one button that can be programmed to do different things. I wonder if BBF can be transferred to these other buttons. I'm satisfied with the button on my Nikons, but it's always nice to have a choice.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I think the 7D Mark II had this feature first so I've been using it for a while. I have the 5D IV too now and set it up the same way.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Brilliant camera.

RRS Loc: Not sure

Works on the 7DMKII and the 1DXII also, been using this system for several years now.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Using Expansion Points you get much the same effect on any of the Canon models with it.... AF always starts at the point you select, then only switches to use one of the surrounding ones if needed because the subject moved and the photog failed to (or chose not to) keep the first AF point on the subject. Current 7DII I use have two forms of Expansion: 4-point and 8-point. 4-point enables those immediately above, below, left and right of the chosen point. 8-point enables all points surrounding the originally chosen one (including those on the diagonal).

This is different from Zone Focus (which some recent models have in choice of two zone sizes). Zone enables a bunch of AF points, any of which can initiate AF (much like a scaled down version of All Points/Auto Selection).

Also... one of the primary reasons I use BBF is so that I rarely need to switch back and forth between One Shot and AI Servo. I can simply use AI Servo most of the time, as my default setting, with both moving and stationary subjects.

Not sayin' that it wouldn't be useful to have two buttons controlling AF with BBF techniques.... It might be for some folks and certain setups. I'm just not sure of those particular applications. I'm also not sure having two AF-On would be worth giving up quick/easy access to AE Lock (*). On older models that lacked the AF-On button (prior to 40D), we had no choice but to use the * button for BBF and set the camera to either no AE Lock or AE Lock on every shot. There were some fairly easy work-arounds (such as temporarily switching to Manual exposure mode to do the same thing as AE Lock), but it was slower and wasn't as convenient as having both AF-On for BBF and * for AE Lock.

I deliberately don't set up my 7DIIs that way. I shoot a lot of sports/action with them and definitely don't want to accidentally end up in One Shot mode.... Considering the size of my thumb and with the buttons directly adjacent to each other, it would be all too easy to press the wrong button and end up in the wrong focus mode when shooting fast & furious.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Great feature, but its not new or limited to the 5D Mark IV. It's also on the 1Dx Mark II and is on my Canon 7D Mark II which was released almost two and a half years ago.

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

...thanks !

Anyone else using more than 1 button for BBF with 1 programmed to servo and the other one-shot?
What has been the experience?

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

Agree with all of that....except for the "beep" confirmation from one-shot mode that gives that extra little tweak of confidence. I shoot almost 100% BBF Servo but will try this 2nd button programmed to one-shot....will post on my experience in the coming weeks.

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

The 6D was missing a lot of options that made me choose the 5D mk III, including the dual drive.

rafikiphoto Loc: Spain

That's how I have mine set. It takes a bit of getting used to but now I wouldn't change. When photographing static birds or animals with One Shot it is just so easy to instantly engage AI Servo and follow a BIF which suddenly appears.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I do. Not sure how to answer your question though. My experience is that I can switch between modes with ease on the fly with my eye to the viewfinder. Not sure what else to say.